Dead end clamp



April 1954 H. H. M CREERY 3,130,261

DEAD END CLAMP Filed Sept. 26, 1962 r I s:

INVENTOR.

HUGH H. MCCREERY AT TORNEYS 3,13tl,261 DEAD END CLAMP Hugh H. McCreery, Lexington, Ohio, assigns! to The Shin Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 26, 19b2, Ser. No.226,366 4 Claims. (Cl. 174-169) This invention relates to conductor clamps for power lines, particularly dead end clamps for straight line mechanical terminations of conductor cables.

The principal object of the invention is to facilitate installation of dead end clamps in transmission lines when the conductors thereof are energized.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate the use of hot stick tools with in-line dead end clamps.

The invention, together with further features, objects and advantages thereof, will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed specification and claims, taken in connection with the appended drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a conductor cable dead end incorporating the clamp of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the conductor clamp taken in the direction 2-2 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the conductor clamp of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction 4-4 in FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a conductor clamp connected between a conductor cable 11 of a transmission line and an insulator 12 to form a dead end for the cable. The apparatus is assembled in aligned relation, the bight 13 of the conductor cable extending along and parallel to an axial line through the conductor clamp, the clevis pin 14 and the eye-pin 15 of the insulator 12. The end 16 of the conductor cable extends at an angle to the bight 13 of the cable in spaced relation to the ceramic body 17 of the insulator for connection to an ancillary line or terminal apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the conductor clamp 10 comprises a body 20 having spaced-apart wall portions 21 and 22, a cable seat 23 and a lead-oif seat 24. Two olevis arm-s 25 and 26 extend from the body 20 on opposite sides of the lead-off seat 24 and are formed with transversely opposed openings 27 and 28 adjacent the extremity thereof for receiving the olevis pin 14. The body 20 is formed along the Wall 21 thereof with an eye 29 for receiving the hook of a come-along utilized as a tensioning device during installation of the conductor cable and dead end.

Clamp 10 has a keeper 30* of generally T-shaped cross section which includes a tongue 31 and two transversely arranged flange parts 3 2 and 3 3. The keeper 3G is secured to the body 20 of the clamp by a screw fastener comprising a U-bolt 3'4 and nuts 35. The U-bolt is held on the body of the clamp by two cars 36 and 37 and is positioned in inclined relation to the body of the clamp by a shoulder 38 of the eye 29. The shoulder 38 is engaged by the one arm of the U-bolt and holds the U-bolt and the keeper 30 with the tongue 31 opposed to the lead-off seat 24. The cars 36 and 37 may be staked against the U-bolt to prevent pivotal movement although the bolt may rest freely between the ears with the extremities of the ears being closed together only sufficiently to prevent outward movement of the U bolt away from the body.

The tongue 31 of the keeper is opposed to the lead-off seat 24 and complements the face of the seat in the transverse :and longitudinal directions thereof. In the transverse direction of the clamp, the seat 24 is formed with a concave face and the tongue is similarly formed with United States Patent 0 a concave face so that the conductor cable is compressively received and held between the two faces. In the longitudinal direction of the clamp, the face of the tongue extends along an arc of the same form and radius as the lead-off seat 24 so that the tongue complements the seat, providing a transition from the axial direction of the seat 24 to the angular direction of the end 16 of the cable away from the body 17 of the insulator.

The face of the tongue may complement the lead-off seat 24 exactly in the longitudinal direction, as by having the same radius of curvature and the same extent as the lead-off seat, or may depart slightly therefrom, as by having a greater radius of curvature adjacent the longitudinal extremities, for increasing the grip of the clamp upon the cable. Y

The body 20, including the walls 21 and 22, the olevis arms 25 and 26, the seats 23 and 24, the eye 29 and the ears 36 and 67, maybe formed by casting or forging in a single piece. The arcuate faces of the lead-off seat of the body and of the tongue of the keeper may be formed with sufficient accuracy by casting the parts so that machining operations are minimized or eliminated. The material may be malleable iron or steel with "a suitable coating of zinc, etc. for protective purpose, or a suitable grade of aluminum or bronze.

With this arrangement, installation of the conductor cable 11 is facilitated since the nuts 35 of the U-bolt 34 may be loosened sufiiciently to permit free entry of the end 16 of the cable between the tongue and the body. The end of the cable is inserted between the olevis arms '25 and 26 and directed naturally over and beyond the body 17 of the insulator 12. This can be accomplished without removal of the nuts 35 of the U-bolt 34 so that a simple tightening operation is sufiicient to complete the installation of the conductor cable in the clamp. has much as the conductor clamp and insulator may be connected prior to mechanical connection of the cable to the clamp, only two tightening operations with a hot stick are required to complete the installation.

The clamp 10 provides an improved result in facilitating connection of the cable to the conductor clamp, while the cable is held by a come-along, permitting insertion of the cable end through the clamp and past the insulator body without dis-assembly of the keeper and fastener. This and the accompanying tightening operation, e.g., of tightening the nuts on the U-bol-t, may be readily accomplished with insulated live line tools.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to restrict the scope of the invention and that various rearrangements of the parts and modifications of the design may be resorted to. The following claims are directed to combinations of elements which embody the invention or inventions of this application.

I claim:

1. A conductor clamp for use as an in-line dead end connector in a transmission line comprising a body having a bottom wall comprising a cable seat and two side walls on opposite sides of the seat, two olevis arms extending in the longitudinal direction of the cable seat from the said body and an arcuate lead-oft seat extending tangently from the cable seat and between the olevis arms to define a lead-off direction therefrom angularly related to the direction of the cable seat between the longitudinal and perpendicular directions thereof, a keeper comprising transversely directed flange means and a tongue perpendicular thereto for extension between the side walls, the tongue having the face thereof in spaced complementary relation to the lead off seat, and screw fastener means for the said keeper comprising a U bolt extending about the clamp body' from back of the lead-off seat and about the side walls of the clamp and engaged with the flange means of the keeper for drawing the keeper toward the lead-oil seat.

2. A conductor clamp in accordance with claim 1, in which the tongue has the face thereof concavely shaped in the transverse and longitudinal direction of the seats for guiding a conductor cable inserted between the tongue and the lead-011 seat from the cable seat end of the clamp.

3. A conductor clamp in accordance with claim 1, in which the cross arm of the U-bolt is held to the body of the clamp by spaced integral ears extending from the body of the clamp opposite the lead-elf seat and by a shoulder extending laterally from the body of the clamp in inclined relation to the longitudinal direction of the cable seat and the lead-off direction of the body for pos tioning the keeper opposite the lead-ofi seat.

4. An end connection for a transmission line comprising a conductor cable in a cable span with bight and end parts of the cable adjacent the connection, an insulator arranged with the longitudinal axis thereof in alignment with the bight of the cable and the body thereof extending in the perpendicular direction thereto and a terminal eye on the insulator, a conductor clamp comprising a body having a bottom wall comprising a cable seat and two side walls on opposite sides of the seat, two arms extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat from the said 2 body and an arcuate lead-otf seat extending tangently from the cable seat to define a lead-off direction therefrom, a keeper on the underside of the clamp body comprising transversely directed flange means and a tongue perpendicul-ar thereto for extension between the side Walls, the tongue having the face thereof in complementary relation to the lead-oh seat, and screw fastener means for the said keeper extending between the clamp body and the keeper, means connecting the arms of the clamp to the terminal eye of the insulator, the bight of the cable extending along the cable seat and lead-off seat, and the end of the cable being spaced from the insulator body, and means on the clamp body holding the screw fastener means with the keeper inclined in angularly disposed relation between the cable seat and lead-off seat to facilitate clamping movement of the keeper toward the cable and lead-01f seats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,624,399 Ellis Apr. 12, 1927 1,936,097 Noyes Nov. 21, 1933 2,059,413 Taylor Nov. 3, 1936 2,980,378 Bethea Apr. 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 129,217 Austria July 25, 1932 

1. CONDUCTOR CLAMP FOR USE AS AN IN-LINE DEAD END CONNECTOR IN A TRANSMISSION LINE COMPRISING A BODY HAVING A BOTTOM WALL COMPRISING A CABLE SEAT AND TWO SIDE WALLS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SEAT, TWO CLEVIS ARMS EXTENDING IN THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION OF THE CABLE SEAT FROM THE SAID BODY AND AN ARCUATE LEAD-OFF SEAT EXTENDING TANGENTLY FROM THE CABLE SEAT AND BETWEEN THE CLEVIS ARMS TO DEFINE A LEAD-OFF DIRECTION THEREFROM ANGULARLY RELATED TO THE DIRECTION OF THE CABLE SEAT BETWEEN THE LONGITUDINAL AND PERPENDICULAR DIRECTIONS THEREOF, A KEEPER COMPRISING TRANSVERSELY DIRECTED FLANGE MEANS AND A TONGUE PERPENDICULAR THERETO FOR EXTENSION BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS, THE TONGUE HAVING THE FACE THEREOF IN SPACED COMPLEMENTARY RELATION TO THE LEAD-OFF SEAT, AND SCREW FASTENER MEANS FOR THE SAID KEEPER COMPRISING A U-BOLT EXTENDING ABOUT THE CLAMP BODY FROM BACK OF THE LEAD-OFF SEAT AND ABOUT THE SIDE WALLS OF THE CLAMP AND ENGAGED WITH THE FLANGE MEANS OF THE KEEPER FOR DRAWING THE KEEPER TOWARD THE LEAD-OFF SEAT. 